"Everything Shilen Patel has done" - West Brom, Carlos Corberan backed to break Premier League duck | OneFootball

Albion have become a really strong force in the Championship under Carlos Corberan

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Despite never reaching the Premier League so far in his managerial career, the hallmarks of a top flight manager are definitely there for Carlos Corberan, as he looks to become one with West Bromwich Albion.

Corberan has been the main instigator behind Albion's major transformation since taking charge in October 2022, at a time where the Baggies found themselves in the Championship relegation zone after a dismal start to the season under Steve Bruce.

Fast-forward nearly two years on from his appointment, and the Baggies supporters are only looking in one direction, which is at a potential Premier League return, after the atmosphere surrounding the West Midlands outfit was also transformed following Shilen Patel's takeover in February, ending Guochuan Lai's ill-fated eight-year spell in The Hawthorns' boardroom.

And, after a positive start to the current campaign, there is optimism that West Brom could end their exile from the Premier League in the not-too-distant future.

West Brom's chances of future promotion assessed

That is the viewpoint of Football League World's Baggies fan pundit, Callum Burgess, when asked about the possibility of his club ending their time away from the top flight in the next five years, having last featured as a top flight club in the 'Lockdown' season of 2020/21.

Burgess referenced a number of factors which point towards West Brom gaining promotion as soon as possible in the aforementioned time-frame, with Patel's takeover of seven months ago providing a real feel-good factor in B71.

"I'd say that everything Shilen Patel has done at the club since taking over means there is a strong possibility that in the next five years, we'll finally see West Bromwich Albion back in the Premier League," he began.

"He's managed to build on the loose ends and the horrible state the club was left in by Guochuan Lai before taking over, and has managed to build a positive atmosphere around the club.

"You've got a brilliant manager in Carlos Corberan, so assuming that he stays, every season we're in the Championship he'll give us a really good chance of getting out of the league and into the Premier League," Burgess stated.

"In terms of what the club need to do in getting there, it's probably making sure that there's no more damage left from Lai's era, and that we're able to keep progressing season upon season under Shilen Patel, and that looks like it well and truly could be the case," he added.

"We've done some really good business across the summer, and a lot of progress has been made off the pitch. For example, he's invested into the training ground, and there's a real feel-good factor around the club at the minute."

West Brom must build on strong Championship start

After being defeated by Southampton in the Play-Offs and a number of long-serving players at the club departing, there was a suggestion by some that it would take a transitional season to occur before Albion reached similar heights, but their start to the season has quashed all of those verdicts and offered Corberan's side an extremely strong platform from which to build the remainder of their campaign.

10 points out of 12, as well as successive away wins to start the campaign show traits of a side that look set to be challenging for automatic promotion under one of the division's most highly-rated managers, having previously been linked with the Leicester City and Burnley vacancies in the summer.

The likes of Josh Maja and Tom Fellows in particular have got off to strong individual starts, and with the likes of Daryl Dike set to return from injury in the coming months, it is a really exciting time for all concerned at The Hawthorns, although current squad depth means the need for further investment in January could be a priority if Albion are hunting down a top two spot.